Avi Weiss received his Ph.D. in economics in 1987 from The University of Chicago for his dissertation on "Firm-Specific Physical Capital: An Empirical Analysis of Vertical Mergers," written under the guidance of Nobel Laureates Gary S. Becker (chairman) and George J. Stigler, and Professors Dennis W. Carlton and Charles Kahn.

Avi Weiss served as Chief Economist and Deputy General Director of the Israel Antitrust Authority (2003-2005), and as Chairman of the Economics Department at Bar-Ilan University, where he has been a staff member since 1988 and received tenure in 1995. In 1992 and 1993 he was a Visiting Professor at the Economics Department in the Social Science Faculty of New York University. He served as a member of the Israeli Anti-Dumping Commission during the period 1999-2003, and has served as a member of several important governmental committees in Israel. In addition, he has won numerous research grants and awards for academic achievements as well as for his teaching skills. In March 2000 he joined IZA as a Research Fellow.

Avi Weiss is the editor-in-chief of the top academic economics journal in Israel, The Economic Quarterly, and an associate editor of Economic Inquiry. He has published in such journals as The Economic Journal, European Economic Review, The Journal of Law and Economics, The Journal of Industrial Economics, The Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, The Journal of Population Economics, The Journal of Legal Studies, Journal of Economic Psychology, Defense and Peace Economics, The European Journal of Political Economy, The Journal of Comparative Economics, Public Choice, and Economics Letters. In addition, he edited a special issue of The Journal of Comparative Economics, and has been a reviewer for such journals like American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, International Journal of Game Theory and The Journal of Law and Economics.

Avi Weiss's research interests cover a large range of microeconomic issues, as witnessed by his publications. Currently, he is conducting research on issues concerning minorities, hostility and altruism, law and economics, industrial organization and experimental and behavioral economics.